Joe and Loanne Chiu Scholastic Scholarship

Scholarship Details

Scholarship Award: $5,000

• One scholar will receive this award.

• The award will be sent directly to recipients via ACH or check and it will be considered a taxable income; OCA will send a 1099-NEC form to you at beginning of the following year, meaning you/your family will need to include it in the next tax filing season. Scholars will be asked to complete a W-9 form to receive the award.

Scholarship Requirements:

• Scholarship recipients will be required to complete one report per year during their undergraduate studies providing updates on their academic progress. Reports will be submitted via a form provided by OCA.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be currently enrolled as a high school senior and will be an undergraduate college student at an accredited undergraduate institution in the upcoming fall semester. Awarded scholars will be required to submit proof that they’ve been accepted into one or more undergraduate education institutions before receiving the scholarship.

• Applicants must be first-gen, meaning their parent(s)/guardian(s) did not earn a bachelor’s degree or higher.

• Applicants must have a 3.8 or higher GPA.

• Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or have legal permanent resident status in the U.S.

• Applicants must not be a child or dependent of:

  • an OCA National staff member,

  • an OCA Executive Council member,

  • or an OCA Business Advisory Council member.

Application Requirements

• Short Biography (300 words max).

  • Your short biography should adequately introduce yourself to anyone reading it, describing your background, experiences, interests, etc. This info will be used on our website if you are selected to be a scholar. If you’d like to see examples of what this short biography should look like, please refer to the scholarship bios webpage.

• Academic Transcript (in PDF format; unofficial transcripts are also accepted)

  • Your transcript must include the first quarter or semester of your freshman year of high school through at least the final quarter or semester of your junior year of high school.

• Experiences

  • There will be a section in the application form asking you to provide details on three types of experiences you may have:

    • Leadership experience

    • Community Service/Volunteer experience

    • Employment/Work experience

  • For each type of experience, you can list up to three of your most prominent and relevant experiences. It’s okay if you don’t have experiences in all three categories because everyone has different circumstances.

• Two (2) Short Answer Response (300 words max)

  • Short Answer Prompt 1: As a first-gen student who is about to enter college, what challenges have you faced, or anticipate you’ll face, as you navigate undergrad?

  • Short Answer Prompt 2: What are you planning to study in college and why? What are your personal and professional plans/goals after you graduate college/university?

• One (1) Essay Response (in PDF format, 500 words max)

  • Essay Prompt: Describe the individuals and/or experiences that have shaped you into the person you are today. What did you learn from them, and how have they influenced how you navigate the world today and in the future?

• Two (2) Professional References

  • Include their name, job title/position, email, phone number, and their relationship to you.

  • References must be able to describe their experiences with you in a professional capacity. We may contact one or both of your references if we determine the need to ask them about you and your application.

  • Please note, this scholarship is not asking for a letter of recommendation.